When I was growing up, one of my very favorite dishes was the Chicken-a-la-King my mom would make. I loved the flavor of the vegetables and chicken together, and then once piled on top of fluffy, hot rice made it hard to beat!
Today, I have a recipe for Turkey a-la-King. This will help you get rid of some of the left-over turkey around your house in the most delicious way possible. It is similar to Chicken a-la-King, and it too, is delicious.
The name of this recipe stirred my interest, so I decided to do a little sleuthing to uncover the origin. My recipe is not nearly as fancy as the original, but it is easier to make, and something the whole family will enjoy. This is what I found on the origin of Chicken a-la-King:
E. Clarke King III published his side of the story in Better Homes and Gardens, April 1937 (p. 86, 154):
“How Chicken a la King Originated. Of course, you’ve had Chicken a la King at one time or another. Everybody has – and nearly everybody likes it. Perhaps it was in a swanky restaurant or a side-arm lunch. But aside from a fleeting suspicion that it was likely named for some royal head of Europe, have you ever really wondered who thought it up and how, when, and why it got its name?
The whole thing started soon after the turn of the century in the once famous Palm Room of the old Brighton Beach Hotel at Brighton Beach, just out of New York City. Everybody who was somebody knew the place ...
Head chef at this summer hotel was George Greenwald, who in the winter and spring ran a restaurant of his own in New York’s Flatiron Building. One warm summer evening, casting about for a concoction to tempt the palate of the proprietor and his wife, Greenwald developed a new sort of chicken dish. He was a bit dubious about it, so made up only two servings and sent them in. There was a long period of silence. No word came from the dining room of the success or failure of the invention.
Finally, a waiter was commissioned to find out how the dish had fared. The proprietor and his lady craved second servings – and there was no more! Gaily, the chef returned to his kitchen. If critical E. Clark King had praised it, to what popular heights might his dish rise if presented to the public?
Next morning, in crackling white uniform and billowing cap, he approached his employer. “You enjoyed the chicken dish I prepared for you last night?” “Yes, indeed – and wished there had been more.” “Do you have any objection to my placing it on the menu?” “None at all. But you’ll have to ask a fairly high price with all those ingredients. I think it will sell, tho.” That was all, and the hotel man little guessed the fame his name was to gain from that idly given permission.
For the next day there appeared on the menu: Chicken a la King.....$1.25. But E. Charles King II, my father, was shy of personal publicity. The name was never copyrighted and very few of the millions who have since delighted in its piquant flavor ever suspected that is was born just outside the city of New York.”
The oldest recipe for Chicken a la King was published in a San Francisco restaurant cookbook. [1919]
Chicken a la King
Take the breast of a boiled chicken or hen (fowl), and cut in very thin diamond-shape pieces.
Put in pan and add three-quarters of a pint of cream, salt and Cayenne pepper.
Boil from three to five minutes.
Add a glass of best sherry or Madeira wine.
Boil for a minute and thicken with the yolks of two eggs, mixed with one-quarter pint of cream.
Put some sliced truffles on top.
–The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL] 1919.
Turkey a-la-King
1 jar (4.5 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained, reserve liquid
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, sliced into 1” thick rounds
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bullion powder, or 1 bullion cube
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups hot water
4 cups chopped, cooked turkey
1 box frozen sweet peas
Cook and stir drained mushrooms, green pepper, and carrots in butter over medium heat about five minutes. Remove from heat. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Mix bullion into hot water and stir until dissolved. Add bullion, milk, and reserved mushroom liquid to vegetables. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until well blended. Boil and stir for about one minute. Add chopped turkey and peas. Cook on low heat until peas are tender. Serve over hot rice, or toast.